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Surveillance States

Edward Snowden
Chaired by Simon Longstaff
Sat 4 April 8:00pm Centennial Hall
Sat 4 April 8:00pm Centennial Hall
Whether you see Edward Snowden as a reluctant whistleblower or a dangerous traitor, he brought the impact of government surveillance systems to the world’s attention.

Edward Snowden has been condemned as a traitor and celebrated as a patriot. In his mind, he is simply a man of good conscience who has followed in the footsteps of family members who have faithfully served the people and Constitution of the USA since the War of Independence. This was the motivation behind his revelation of US secrets. Governments are now armed with technology that enables them to pry into every aspect of our lives…all in the name of security. Snowden asks us to consider the possibility that we may have more to fear from our own governments than from any external threat – and that our liberties have already been lost.

This will be a satellite link event.

This session is supported and inspired by Simon Mordant AM and Catriona Mordant AM.

Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.
Edward Snowden

Edward Snowden

Edward Snowden was born in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and grew up in the shadow of Fort Meade. A systems engineer by training, he served as an officer of the Central Intelligence Agency, and worked as a contractor for the National Security Agency. He has received numerous awards for his public service, including the Right Livelihood Award, the German Whistleblower Prize, the Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling, and the Carl von Ossietzky Medal from the International League of Human Rights. Currently, he serves as president of the board of directors of the Freedom of the Press Foundation.

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